Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-11-25

It was attacked on two points by the
Eleventh Bengal Infantry, under Drury
and Stuart. The latter went gallantly
storming over the stockades, but the first
named officer, Lieutenant Ashton Drury,
8 fine young subsltern of the South
Wales Borderers (sttached to the Bengal
corps, fell dead-the first officer killed
in the new campaign-while Lieutenant
! Sellery Of the Inniskilleys, similarly st
tached, was wounded along with several
Sepoys.
Lonsdale, whom the Bengslees followed
closely, for, discipline apart, he had the
air Of man born to command, had q
narrow escape in this wretched Jungle
warfare, as q wounded Burmese, in his
death sgony, half raising himself from
the blood-slippery grass, with his sharp
daO, or chopper, made a savage stab at
him. A Bengalee parried the thrust with
his rife, and then blew out the creatures
brains.
Charlie Danvers also had an escape
Blinded by the smoke of some blazing
bamboo houses, he lost mis- way, and fell
among som: Burmese skirmlshers, but
was too much of an Englishman not TO be
equal TO the occasion. He cut down two,
emptied his revolver among the rest, but
stumbled and fell, when heap of others
were piled over him, killed and wounded,
whose blood plastered him from head to
foot, to his great disgust. Between gore
and CRIME he presented terrible appear
ance, and emerged from under them with
q very wry face, for Charlie was q natty
and vain young fellow-vain of the white
ness Of his hands, his straw-colored
moustache and somewhat vapid counte-
nance.
The attack had lasted three. quarters of
an hour, during which the shot from riaed
brass guns of the Burmese rang incess-
antly through the dense leafy Jungle,
shredding away the foliage into fakes,
till our stormers swept over the place,
and the village, with ell its painted
pagodas, was given to the flames; ana
amid sheet of these the bamboo houses
burned t1ercely, the roar of the confagra-
ton almost drowning the iendish yells of
the Burmese.
"Forward!" was now the order, and
the troops, full of fervor, pressing over
some open ground beyond advanced
against the Fort Of Minhla, into which
the Kathleen from the river was throwing
her shells with beautiful precision.
The works were grit by thick Jungle,
fantastic hemlets eleven guns and two
wall pieces, from the higher ramparts,
were pouring grape, despite which g
small party, led by Lleutenants DoWnes
OF the Eleventh, Wilkinson of the Twelfth,
and other officers, including Montressor,
armed with his sword and brace of re-
VolVers, as he was always ter ibIY in
earnest about anything he undertook to
do TpaNhG6 nf oil NH
was covered by one very formidable piece |
Of cannon. "Waiting until the gun at the |
head Of the rampant had discharged it's
periodical round of grape" wrote one
who was present, "these officers |
led their men to most gallant |
and successful assault. They met with |
sharp resistance at the top of the in
cline, and poor Wilkinson had his skull |
cut through with dao, or heavy kpife-a |
very dangerous wound. His conduct, |
and that of Downes, VINO was conspic- |
uously to the front, deserves recognition. |
The Burmese were quickly cut up in a
terrible degree-as they were massed to-
gether both on the rampant and in the
courtyard below-by the fire of our
breech-loaders, and as they rushed out to
the river bank on the east they were met |
by party under Stuart, and suffered |
severely; in fact, very few escaped alive.
l suppose q hundred were killed outright
here, a number wounded, and $50, or 200,
made prisoners"
The Burmese commander here was
ruff who had been odiously Jealous in
the awful palace massacres; and his
troops were the Kings marines, whose
helmets were surmounted by gilt anchors,
IN lieu OF the ordinary red moutAed drag
on of the line.
The Italians in TheebaW's service now
exploded mine from the other side OF
the river, by which the armed launch
had G narrow escape; but after
a three hours conflict, Minhle was ours.
The whole town, including the Govern
or's palaces, persisted in q conhsgration
caused by the shells from the launch.
When the firing ceased, and the dead
and wounded were being reckoned and
lists made up for the general, Montressor
and Lons,lale, on meeting each other,
shook hands in congratulation that they
aad both escaped untouched; but s sad
Ter sequel was in store for both ere long,
when under fire again.
CHAPTER xXXvIu-HoMK.
And now for brief glance at what was {
hen passing at Rose Cottage and Ravens
bourne Hall. {
The days were drawing in, and the
iombre gloamings came early. Many of t
he former were dull and sullen, with Y
leetY showers; and the wind hoWled at !
hight through the lofty and leafess trees @
hat over hung the cottage.
The swine were roofing in the desolate r
orntields among the black, or brown,
Iecaying stubble, and the noisy ducks t
anne, dirty and draggled, from the Z
muddy pools, that were half choked with s
allen leaves. Y
1t was toward the end of a genuine En-
lish November, when the rain raineth +
very day, and frowsy fogs, like those of y
Holland, envelop all the low-lying and :
l-dreined land.
The Thames was shorn of its sylvan =
eauty, and the trysting place, on which =
1e memory of Lonsdale. then so far \
way amid the rice swamps of the Ran n
DON river, dwelt so fondly, was no longer q
place of rich grass, sweet flowers and II
unshine, but one instinct with the =
eathlY odor Of rotting sedge and Shiny "
so Melsnie Talbot went near
no more; it seemed so gloomy and
eserted, so indicative of present anxiety o
nd future hopelessness; and If here and -,
lere flower fingered in the once pretty u
arden of the cottage, it seemed to stand, u
) someone says, above its dead compan- d.
ms like mourner over grave, waiting 5,
n Mother Earth to receive it also. N
Her brother Reginald WAS still at the u